Roem, a 32-year-old journalist and lifelong resident of her district, beat three other Democrats on a platform that included improving a main thoroughfare for the district

Published at 4:33 AM PDT on Jun 16, 2017

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Danica Roem makes her pitch to voters at the Bull Run Swim & Raquet Club while debating three fellow Democrats in Manassas, Virginia Friday June 2, 2017. Roem could become the first openly transgender elected official in Virginia.

After winning the Democratic primary, Danica Roem is one step closer to becoming the first openly transgender state legislator in Virginia, and only the third in the U.S., NBC News reported.

Roem, a 32-year-old journalist and lifelong resident of her district, beat three other Democrats Tuesday on a platform that included improving a main thoroughfare for the district and fighting LGBT discrimination.

The last of those two issues may prove to be particularly salient in the general election. Roem's Republican opponent, 11-term incumbent delegate Bob Marshall, introduced a bill that would have mandated that trans people in Virginia use bathrooms that correspond with "their original birth certificate."

Despite Marshall's long tenure, Virginia Democrats are hopeful that they can win Roem's district — which voted for Hillary Clinton in November — in their quest to flip 17 seats and take control of the state's House of Delegates.

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